April Research Roundup 2026: Recently Published Findings From AFSP-Funded Studies

The Research Roundup a regular update of recently published findings in suicide prevention research. AFSP-funded studies included in this roundup examined how…

• Provider perspectives in LGBTQ+ community settings can inform suicide prevention treatment
• Examining emotional patterns can help personalize interventions for suicidal thoughts
• Different forms of stigma may shape suicide risk among Black  young adults, and
• Genetic risk for chronic pain may be linked to suicide risk

Researcher: Jody Russon, PhD
Institution: Drexel University
Grant Type: 2016 Postdoctoral Fellowship — $104,000
Grant Title: ABFT for LGBTQ Suicidal Youth: Feasibility, Acceptability and Transportability

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors among LGBTQ+ youth are shaped not only by emotional distress, but also by the social environments in which young people live. Research has shown that LGBTQ+ youth face higher rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts compared to their peers, with much of this risk linked to experiences of stigma, discrimination, and rejection, often referred to as minority stress. These stressors can occur across multiple settings, including schools, healthcare systems, and, importantly, within families. At the same time, family support and acceptance have been shown to play a powerful protective role, reducing suicide risk and supporting overall well-being. Despite this, many LGBTQ+ youth encounter barriers to accessing affirming care in traditional healthcare settings and instead turn to community-based LGBTQ+ centers, where they may feel safer and more understood. Understanding how providers in these settings navigate suicide risk, and the complex role of family involvement, is an important step in strengthening support for this population. 

With her AFSP grant, Dr. Jody Russon conducted a qualitative study exploring the perspectives of 18 providers working in LGBTQ+ community centers who support youth experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Through focus group interviews, providers described how they regularly encounter the impact of discrimination, family rejection, and barriers to affirming care in their work with youth. They also shared the challenges of engaging families in treatment, particularly when caregivers are not accepting, which can create tension between wanting to build family support and ensuring the safety of the young person. Providers emphasized the importance of assessing family readiness, using therapeutic education to increase understanding, and, when needed, expanding the definition of “family” to include supportive individuals outside of biological relatives. At the same time, they highlighted broader systemic challenges, including limited resources, long waitlists, and a lack of affirming services in mainstream care settings. Overall, the findings underscore the critical role of affirming providers and community-based supports, while pointing to the need for training, resources, and family-centered approaches that safely address the broader social factors shaping suicide risk among LGBTQ+ youth.

Citation: Smith, K. A., Srinivasan, S., Guenette, C., & Russon, J. M. (2026). LGBTQ+ Community Center Providers' Perceptions: Tensions and Solutions for Serving LGBTQ+ Youth With Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors and Their Families. Journal of marital and family therapy, 52(2), e70120. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.70120   

Researcher: Kevin Kuehn, PhD
Institution: University of California, San Diego
Grant Type: 2023 Early Career Research Grant — $110,000
Grant Title: Developing and Testing a Brief, Personalized Intervention for Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors

Suicidal thoughts can arise for many different reasons, and the experiences that lead someone toward these thoughts often look different from one person to the next. Research has shown that suicidal thoughts are frequently connected to emotional distress, but the specific emotions involved, and how they unfold in daily life, can vary widely across individuals. For example, one person’s suicidal thoughts may be most closely tied to shame or fear, while another person’s may emerge during periods of sadness or feelings of meaninglessness. Many suicide-specific therapies teach skills that help people manage intense emotions and reduce self-harm risk, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). However, these treatments are typically delivered using the same structure for everyone, even though the emotional experiences linked to suicidal thinking may differ from person to person. Researchers have therefore begun exploring whether treatments could become more effective if they were tailored to the specific emotional patterns that precede suicidal thoughts for each individual.

With support from an AFSP Early Career Researcher grant, Dr. Kevin Kuehn developed a new personalized intervention called PRECISE that combines smartphone-based monitoring with therapist-guided coaching. In this proof-of-concept study, five young adults experiencing active suicidal thoughts completed brief surveys on their phones five times per day for six weeks, reporting on their emotions, coping strategies, and suicidal thoughts. These real-time data were used to create individualized models showing which emotions were most closely linked to suicidal thinking for each participant. Clinicians reviewed these patterns during weekly coaching sessions and used them to select coping strategies drawn from dialectical behavior therapy that were tailored to each participant’s emotional triggers. Three participants completed the full program and showed reductions in suicidal ideation and negative emotions over time. Engagement with the monitoring system was high and participants reported strong satisfaction with the intervention. Although the study was small and preliminary, the findings suggest that combining real-time data with personalized therapeutic strategies may offer a promising new direction for suicide prevention.

Citation: Kuehn, K. S., Aguilar, L. S., Foster, K. T., Moore, R. C., & Depp, C. A. (2026). A methodological proof-of-concept of a data-driven, personalized, blended digital health intervention for suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A case series. Internet interventions, 43, 100917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2026.100917   

Researchers: Hans Oh, PhD, MSW
Institution: University of Southern California
Grant Type: 2024 Early Career Research Grant — $140,000
Grant Title: Developing a Personalized Normative Feedback Intervention to Increase Help-Seeking for Suicidal Thoughts

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors among Black American emerging adults have received growing attention in recent years, alongside efforts to better understand the social factors that shape risk. While emotional distress plays a major role, experiences of stigma (i.e., negative attitudes) surrounding mental health may influence how risk develops and whether individuals seek support. Stigma can take different forms. Perceived public stigma refers to the belief that others view people in mental health treatment negatively (e.g., that they may be judged, avoided, or seen as weak). Self-stigma, on the other hand, reflects the internalization of these beliefs, such as feeling ashamed of one’s own distress or viewing oneself negatively for needing help. These experiences can shape how individuals interpret their struggles, whether they disclose distress, and how they engage with care. Understanding these dynamics is especially important for Black emerging adults, who may face unique cultural and structural barriers to mental health support.

Dr. Hans Oh used his AFSP grant to examine how perceived public stigma and self-stigma were associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among more than 1,200 Black American young adults ages 18–29. Participants completed an online survey assessing stigma, perceived need for mental health support, and recent suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Among those who reported needing help, higher perceived public stigma was associated with greater likelihood of suicidal ideation, while self-stigma was more strongly associated with suicide attempts. Among those who did not report needing help, stigma was generally not associated with suicidal thoughts or behaviors; however, individuals who endorsed more negative beliefs about people in mental health treatment (conceptualized as prejudice in this group) showed a higher likelihood of recent suicide attempts. Overall, the findings suggest that how a person experiences these perceived negative attitudes may affect their thoughts and behavior in regard to suicide.

Citation: Oh, H.; Boyd, D.; Anderson, R.E.; Patterson, A.; Stephens, J.R.B.; Besecker, M.; Goodwill, J. Stigma and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among Black American emerging adults. SSM - Ment. Heal. 2026, 9, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2026.100598   

Researcher: Virginia Willour, PhD
Institution: University of Iowa  
Grant Type: 2019 Focus Grant — $1,488,788
Grant Title: An Integrated Approach to Understanding the Biology of Suicidal Behavior

Suicide risk is shaped not only by psychological and social factors, but also by biological processes that may influence vulnerability over time. One area of growing interest is the relationship between chronic pain and suicide, as individuals experiencing persistent pain often face increased emotional distress, functional limitations, and reduced quality of life. Research has consistently shown that chronic pain is associated with higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, but less is understood about the underlying mechanisms that may connect these experiences. In particular, emerging work in psychiatric genetics has begun to explore whether shared genetic factors may help explain why chronic pain and suicide risk often co-occur, offering new insight into how physical and mental health may be interconnected.

With support from her AFSP grant, Dr. Virginia Willour and her team examined whether genetic predisposition to chronic pain is associated with suicide death. The study included 986 individuals who died by suicide and 415 ancestry-matched controls, using whole-genome sequencing data linked with electronic health records. The team focused on two types of chronic pain: multisite chronic pain (pain occurring in multiple areas of the body) and chronic widespread pain (pain experienced broadly across the body). They calculated polygenic risk scores (i.e., estimates of an individual’s inherited likelihood of developing these pain conditions) and found that individuals who died by suicide tended to have higher genetic risk for both types of chronic pain compared to control groups. In other words, even without directly measuring pain symptoms in all cases, those with a greater inherited likelihood of experiencing widespread or multi-location pain were more likely to be in the suicide group. Consistent with this, electronic health record data showed that individuals with diagnosed chronic pain conditions were also more likely to have been in the suicide group than in the non-suicide group. Together, the findings suggest that vulnerability to chronic pain, both at the genetic level and in lived experience, was associated with suicide death, underscoring the importance of integrating pain management and mental health care in prevention efforts.

Citation: Han, S., DiBlasi, E., Monson, E. T., Shabalin, A. A., Baird, L., Chen, D., Lamichhane, D., Tharp, D., Ferris, E., Yu, Z., Brandon Callor, W., Staley, M. J., Li, Q. S., Willour, V., Crockett, D. K., Eilbeck, K., Bakian, A. V., Keeshin, B. R., Okifuji, A., Coon, H., … Docherty, A. R. (2026). Genetic risk of chronic pain conditions associated with risk of suicide death through an integrative analysis of EHR and genomics data. Translational psychiatry, 16(1), 117. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-03861-6  

Learn more about the AFSP research grants featured in this monthly roundup, as well as others, here.